The Whole Truth by David Baldacci Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Whole Truth
Book Review: A so-so effort from Baldacci, though still better than his other recent works
Summary: 3 Stars
When he burst onto the scene with his first book "Absolute Power", Baldacci made an amazing debut with a novel of political intrigue that showed a fine talent for complex plotting, deep and rich characterizations, and edge-of-your-seat suspense. It was subsequently made into a very good Clint Eastwood movie.
Unfortunately, Baldacci hasn't been able to hit that standard since. His last few books, centering on the Camel Club, have -- frankly -- been pretty lame and formulaic, in my opinion.
In "The Whole Truth", Baldacci brings a new set of characters to us in a story that centers on the efforts of a multi-billionaire arms merchant (Nicholas Creel) to reshape world events to foster a world order more to his political and financial preferences; and the efforts of a heroic but shadowy para-secret-agent (Shaw) to thwart his scheme.
Credit to Baldacci for trying to approach once again a story of broader scope and more complexity than his recent efforts, something more along the lines of "Absolute Truth". Unfortunately, he achieves only moderate success.
To begin with, I found the Shaw character to be pretty much a knockoff of Lee Childs's "Jack Reacher" character, but not as interesting. With Reacher, we have a background; Shaw pretty much seems to have appeared from a vacuum. He's underdeveloped, doesn't seem to have a history that existed before this story, and therefore wasn't nearly as interesting to me as Reacher. Secondary character Katie James is actually much more fully realized.
Nicholas Creel is a more interesting character, and more fully developed, but again seemed to be somewhat of a cypher. His motives in the story were explained, but didn't seem to resonate on an emotional level.
The plot crux of the story -- media manipulation to create an international military crisis -- seemed incredibly far-fetched, and depended on irrational and inexplicable actions on the part of secondary and peripheral characters. It just didn't really work. And because it didn't, I got no sense of real urgency from the story; no emotional "zing".
So... a mixed bag. It moved along briskly. And kudos to Baldacci for leaving the Camel Club at the oasis this time around.
Three stars.
Book Review: Almost a copycat
Summary: 3 Stars
First of all let me tell you that this plot is not new. The movie "Wag the Dog" starring Dustin Hoffman has a fake war too.
The story is well written and fast paced so you'll have a good time reading it but it also has some blunders.
Spoiler:
If you haven't read the book don't read this:
The plot is a little far-fetched because I really don't think that Russia or China will start a war just for hearing some scuttlebutt and not checking the truth of it. I think that part is utterly false and wrong not to mention that everybody will use the same dealer to buy war-ware.
Book Review: Amazing, page turner!
Summary: 5 Stars
What an amazing book. I really liked the way the author brought out the characters. I can easily picture them in my mind. The lead character SHAW had me rooting for him throughout the book. I hope Baldacci continues to make books with this character. Definately worth the read. I had no idea what a "PM" firm was and what they can accomplish in todays world. Gripping storline, characters are easily described and the book flows nicely.Book Review: An Enjoyable Read
Summary: 4 Stars
Baldacci is a writer with considerable talent and he is cosistently able to write a book that keeps the readers interest throughout. He has become known for his ability to take issues of a contemporary nature and place them into an exciting work of Fiction. Much of this is attributable to the characters that he has developed. They have substance as well as depth and grow as the book takes form. This book takes a bit longer to get going than some of previous works, yet once the action starts, this is a difficult book to put down. He takes on the question of Perception Management in this work. It is best described by a quote that is used at the beginning of the book. The quote asks the question, "Why search for the truth when it is so much easier to invent it?". In the age of the Internet and everyone wushing to be first, it gives one pause as to what is really true and what might be conjecture. Although some of what is written appears far-fetched, one must always be vigilant and in a questioning mode. The book is very well done and it is highly recommended by this reviewer.Book Review: Another Baldacci Masterpiece!
Summary: 5 Stars
The villain of this novel is Nicolas Creel. He is the CEO of Ares Corp.
Ares is the largest weapons manufacturer in the world. According to Forbes
Creel is the 14th wealthiest person in the world with a net worth of $20 billion dollars. He needs unrest and conflict to help his profits and
income. Dick Pender is a spin master who works for Mr. Creel.He is a
specialist in "perception management. He is using
his talents to create a negative perception of Russia. He is creating the
Red Menace. The hero of this story is Shaw who works for an intelligence
group. His handler is Frank Wells. An organization called the Phoenix
Group is killed by a group posing as Russians. The Phoenix Group is bank-
rolled by the Chinese. Katie James is a journalist who was a previous winner of two Pulitzers but is now ruined in journalism. She stumbles across this story and hopes to use this opportunity to revive her career.
The world is on the brink of war between Russia and China. It becomes
Shaw's job to stop it. There is nonstop action in this fine book. Be sure to read it.